Letter of the Week

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ON September 11, Deputy Mayor Donna Gates released an article revealing the State Government quota for new dwellings as per the state instrument: “Shaping SEQ”.

What she omits is that Shaping SEQ specifically labels the light rail urban renewal corridor and the future light rail urban renewal corridor to be key locations for highdensity development.

The light rail urban renewal corridor south of Broadbeach is yet to be revealed to the public, and so the public cannot truly understand the adverse impact the light rail will have on surrounding coastal neighbourhoods as it tracks south.

The light rail urban renewal area can extend several hundred metres inland from the Gold Coast Hwy and will drastically alter the identity of coastal communities, most significantly Palm Beach.

Multiple dwelling developments in southern communities have been approved by council with residential densities of up to 300 per cent more than City Plan through the justification of access to future light rail and other subjective performance-based criteria as per the relevant applicable code.

The City Plan specifically limits building heights to a maximum of 50 per cent above the Building Height Overlay. Therefore, building heights should be the least of residents’ worries, until they are amended by council and approved by State.

Residential density has no such specified or objective limit and so coincidently there will be significant relaxations on site coverage, building setbacks, and communal open space with no real concern to adjoining residential amenity, regardless of the urban planning jargon sprouted by developers and council assessment officers alike.

This is of course all allowed under the City Plan and its subjective performance-based planning criteria and Shaping SEQ.

In 15 years we will look back on the era of subjective performancebased planning with utter disdain for its inherent and non-accumulative short sightedness.

I believe in development, it is inevitable and necessary, but it must be sustainable and direct growth towards enhancing community identities and not erode them. To conclude, I leave an extract from Shaping SEQ contradicting GCCC’s No.1 priority of achieving the dwelling quota.

“Shaping SEQ: Theme 1 – Grow: Sustainably accommodating a growing population. SEQ will embrace the diverse communities that define our region.

“Growth will be directed to reinforcing the identities that we value, and which make SEQ an attractive region to live”.

HAYDN CLENTSMITH, PALM BEACH HAVEN’T we all had a gutful of the incompetent federal parliamentary system?

Most of the politicians we elect to Canberra turn out to have no real idea what their jobs’ roles and responsibilities are.

If the Julius Caesar-inspired revolving door selection procedure for the appointment of a national leader isn’t bad enough, we now have the noisy and hysterical arrival of the “snowflakes.”

These thin-skinned individuals, now that their guaranteed tenure in parliament can be seen to be ending, are acting like cats that have been washed in the toilet.

There may be no fury like a woman scorned but it is also true that if you can’t stand the heat, stay out of the kitchen.

Well my advice to these double X-chromosomed snowflakes is pull the plug now and go.

Probably a better choice would be to find us an Australian Oliver Cromwell who could set about establishing a parliamentary system

that can provide Australians with sound, honest and competent government.

J.J. GOOLD, MUDGEERABA

IT is a shame that Renton Winders in his letter (GCB, 15/9) chooses to demonise the Friends of Currumbin Community Group and the 8888 supporters of the Tugun to Bilinga Oceanway Petition.

Mr Winders may not be aware that the Tugun to Bilinga Oceanway is not an idea that the Friends of Currumbin and members of the wider community came up with.

It is a Council idea and Council proposal.

The Gold Coast Oceanway is a 36km stretch of magnificent pedestrian and cycling pathways along the foreshores from the Point Danger Lighthouse to the Gold Coast Seaway and has been identified as a signature project for the city for its health, social and economic benefits.

The Tugun to Bilinga Oceanway section is a 1.7km stretch of Public Road Reserve, the missing link of path between Bilinga SLSC and O’ Connor Park at Tugun.

The Friends of Currumbin came together in 1979 when a group of locals fought a major development at the mouth of Currumbin Creek.

We all know and love this area now known as the Palm Beach Parklands.

This commitment continues today with the Friends of Currumbin working hard to ensure there is safe, equitable access for everyone to our world-class foreshores along the Tugun to Bilinga Oceanway. Its time to move on and embrace the future and to share and enjoy our coastal Lifestyle.

GLORIA BAKER, SECRETARY, FRIENDS OF CURRUMBIN INC.